


Time-Off

by itsab



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23819110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsab/pseuds/itsab
Summary: A simple friends to lovers that no-one asked for.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Reader
Kudos: 52





	Time-Off

**Author's Note:**

> The reader is female.

When Anthony Edward Stark returned from the Middle East, from his three months of hell, he had about four people waiting for him to return. There was Happy, his loyal driver and friend. The Colonel James Rhodes, or Rhodey, who was a long-time friend of Tony’s. Pepper, his faithful assistant slash ‘person-who-ran-his-life’. And, there was Y/N, the woman who’d been by Tony’s side since the two were children.

There had also been Obadiah Stane, but considering he tried to have Tony murdered (multiple times), he was no longer allowed to be on that list.

* * *

“Y/N?”

Tony had wandered downstairs, into his private lab, shortly after he’d eaten his dinner. Only moments ago, his home’s artificial intelligence (JARVIS) had informed him that Y/N Y/L was still down there, hours after he’d left her there. In fact, Tony had been informed that she’d been avidly staring at a hunk of metal for the past twenty minutes, showing no sign of moving from that position either. Whilst it wasn’t odd to have the woman in his home, at all hours of the day and night – Y/N practically lived with him at this point – it was a bit odd that she’d been locked into a stare-down with some metal.

“Y/N, you in here?” Peering through the window, which was un-frosted glass, he saw the woman in question sulking at his large workstation, indeed pouting at a hunk of metal, which happened to be bigger than her head.

Silently, Tony watched her from where he stood. He was a firm believer that Y/N was the woman he was in love with, but these thoughts were something he’d always kept to himself. He lived a dangerous life, so Tony Stark had never once admitted this aloud, scared for any changes they might bring. Despite his lack of acknowledgement of this fact, pretty much the whole world knew of his affections for the girl. Plus, those closest to the two of them, knew he was in love with her.

How could he not be in love with her, though?

The woman was smart, probably even more intelligent than he was. While he’d graduated cum laude from MIT at seventeen, she’d done it at sixteen. Where Tony had spent much of his life, after his twenty-first birthday, working in weaponry, Y/N had been developing technologies that had bettered medicine, education, and had furthered the idea of long-term space-travel. Also, she was incredibly kind. The woman wouldn’t hurt a fly, completely refusing to do something so awful, but that didn’t mean she was helpless either.

Un Tony’s eyes, Y/N was the perfect woman… which is why he’d never told her of his true feelings. Still, he could admire her from afar, at least.

“You gonna’ stand there all day, hot-shot, or are you gonna’ offer a lady some help?”

The teasing tone that laced Y/N’s voice brought Tony back to reality, “I don’t know… Standing over here, all day, certainly has a good view.” Tony sent a wink to her, as he leaned against the doorframe. He witnessed her roll her eyes, but he didn’t miss the flush that sprung onto her cheeks. Despite the fact he’d never tell her the truth of his feelings for her, he never missed an opportunity to flirt with her. “What are you working on?”

Y/N turned back to the hunk of metal on the work-top in front of her, Tony reminding her of what had her so frustrated. “I’m trying to develop a small module, that can withstand tremendous forces, yet continue to be both portable and lightweight.” The module was supposed to be sent up into space, meaning it had to be durable, but Y/N was having trouble designing something that wouldn’t take up too much physical space. After having explained all of this, Y/N swivelled back to look at Tony, “Any ideas, hot-shot?”

Sauntering over to her, Tony nodded. “Sure, I have a few ideas… But, I think the issue you’re having here, might be due to materials, rather than design.” Y/N tilted her head towards him, letting him know that she was listening intently to what he had to say. “You should try a more durable metal, maybe titanium, or vibranium?”

Y/N nodded, considering what he’d said, “Sounds like I have some revising to do.” However, instead of cracking on with said revising, Y/N stood up, abandoning her work for the day, “Whatever, that’s tomorrow’s problem.” She turned towards Tony, “Want to have a drink?”

Tony let a roguish smile crack his face, “Always.”

The two found themselves drinking away any worries, staying up until the light of dawn peeped in through the cracks of the drawn curtains. Tony was lounging casually along his expensive sofa, Y/N doing the same at the opposite end. Both held glasses of scotch in their hands, a regular occurrence for Tony but not for Y/N. Her being unused to the scotch meant the loosening of her lips.

“So, what’s the module for?” Tony asked his friend casually, knowing she’d be honest with him. The two never directly lied to each other. “You trying to contact aliens or something?” He lolled his head to the side, looking towards her with teasing eyes.

Y/N chuckled, shaking her head in disagreement, “Nah, I’m just designing some stuff for NASA’s next trip.” It was said quite casually, and Tony knew it was because she’d done some work for them in the past. “It’s slightly more trouble than it might be worth, though.” Y/N paused for a moment, looking as if she was in deep thought, before she quickly sent a smile at him, “Hey, hot-shot, do you think I should take a break?” At his questioning hum, Y/N went on, “You know, spend a few months out of it all. I’ll just soak in alcohol on a random beach, somewhere in the Bahamas.”

Secretly, Tony panicked. Whilst he put on a brave face, he was genuinely terrified of losing any of his ‘family’… but even more so, he was petrified of losing Y/N, even if it was just for a few months. Outwardly, Tony kept his cool well, “Don’t be ridiculous, Y/N! I know you, and you would be bored within three days of landing.”

Y/N tilted her head, as she considered his words… “Okay, sure.” The woman took a long sip of her drink, gulping it down, before she turned back to him. Despite the drink she’d just sculled, she looked very competent as she said, “Hey, come with me!” Y/N leaned closer to him, “We’ll go to your place in Cabo, or we go somewhere else! Let’s just go away!”

Since his return, Tony tried to be someone who was more consistent and thoughtful. Tony was tempted for a moment, but that wasn’t who he was anymore. “Wish I could, but I’m too busy the next few months.” Seeing her upset look, Tony tried to justify his words a little, “Besides, I’d be putting you off your game, you’d never be able to pull someone with a man hanging around you! They’d think we’re together, or something like that-”

“Tony.” She only said his name, but it successfully cut off his rambling mouth. The shy look that had formed on her face wasn’t normal, Y/N was normally outspoken with Tony, she’d never had a reason to be so awkward with him. Yet, Tony took notice of the shy smile on her face, as well as the significantly reddened cheeks. “Tony, I’m asking you to come away with me.” The way she’d said the words sent a thrill up his spine, as it was the way he’d heard romantic confessions being told in movies. “I want to go away with you, I want to explore somewhere with you… Tony, I guess I’m saying that I, uh, want to spend time with you… Alone.”

Whilst Tony knew she was confessing her deepest desire to him, one that he very much shared… He could not help himself, “You know we’re alone right now, don’t you Y/N?” He watched with amusement as her face dropped into an annoyed expression; eyebrows drawn together, lips pursed and eyelids narrowed towards him. She knew he was having her on. “Okay, okay! I understand what you’re saying, but you do mean romantically, right? You want to spend time alone, as lovers?” He briefly paused, taking in her slow, but resolved, nod. “Huh, I wish I’d known you felt this way, maybe we could’ve run away together ages ago.”

The smile he received, whilst a little awkward (due to the alcohol Y/N had consumed), was blindingly happy. Tony found himself returning the smile in kind. Hmm, perhaps he could get Pepper to rearrange his schedule? A week or two away with Y/N, as lovers, wouldn’t be too bad at all.


End file.
